Maybe Bill Callahan is right.
Maybe it is a step forward by just beating Ball St. by 1 point when you are 22 point favorites at home.
You know, Ball St. - that power team who lost to Miami of Ohio in Week 1. That juggernaut team that went to Overtime with Navy and that special team that nearly walked out of Memorial Stadium Saturday with a victory. I guess it is a big deal to beat Ball St. because Nebraska is ranked again this week. In fact, they didn't MOVE in the coach's poll. 22nd in the Coach's. 25th in the A.P. You see - nobody saw the game, just the score. Nobody cares how you win anymore. Just get the W - forget the competition.
How else can you explain the fact that Alabama went to from being ranked 2oth to 24th in coaches poll? Alabama went to Overtime with then No. 22 Georgia. They lost to a ranked conference opponent...and SEC opponent. Nebraska nearly lost to a team that considers finishing 2nd in the MAC West a big deal. I never thought I'd long for the days when window dressing a victory mattered but at least in those days people actually paid attention to who you beat and by how much.
The A.P. poll this week isn't any better. Nebraska is ranked No. 25th and Miami isn't ranked at all. Louisville was ranked 18th last week...and they lost. Ok - they should drop but they lost to Syracuse. A Big East school. A school that you know plays football and you know who they are. What if Nebraska beat Syracuse 41-40. You'd feel a HELL of a lot better today wouldn't you? Which is worse - Losing to Syracuse by 3 or nearly losing to Ball St, winning by 1? Sure a win is a win....but Nebraska being ranked and Louisville not means nobody is paying attention.
We've known this for years but this is just another illustration that rankings and polls mean nothing. Do you really think Nebraska is the 22nd best team in America? They were a dropped pass in that game Saturday from a loss to a team that had never beaten a BCS school - EVER. Sure - a win is a win is a win. But never did I think that Pay-Per-View could help Nebraska's national image. But I guess it helps when you hide your performance from the national view.
2 comments:
Matt,
It seems to me that Nebraska is turning into a Big 10 team. By that I mean, we are an average team, that will will 6 or 9 games a year, then when we get a bunch of seniors that know our offense and defense, we will win 10+ games. (ala Penn State) I may be way off, and I hope I'm wrong. Just look at our defensive line, all seniors last year, this year they're struggling. I dread October.
Matt, Worry about the polls at the end of the season, why you and other media people waste time trying to make sense of it is a waste of time. Seems like we just can't enjoy college football for what it is anymore without nitpicking every little item. But I guess it is so much easier and takes less effort to be negative then to be positive.
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